


Dangan Ronpa: Noir

by LVLY (LovelyLullaby)



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempted Murder, Canon Disabled Character, Drama & Romance, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Execution, F/F, F/M, Fan Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Murder, Murder Mystery, Mystery, No Smut, Nonbinary Character, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Trans Character, fangame
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-11-18 20:26:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18126077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovelyLullaby/pseuds/LVLY
Summary: Fubuki has loved movies ever since a child. Seeing a whole world, just outside her reached, plastered on a silver screen before her eyes has always left her yearning for something more in her life, adventure and fun.Unfortunately, Fubuki's wish has come true, but at a price.It seems she's found herself in a horror movie.





	Dangan Ronpa: Noir

Fubuki was used to waking up in odd positions and spaces. The art of sleeping in the most uncomfortable of places was one of her necessary skills. Kinks in the neck and a vague thrumming headache were the norm for her. Yes, she could sleep with discomfort and going through the day with a acute sense of pain was the norm for her.

But even so, Fubuki had her limits.

One of those limits was feeling as though her head had been cracked across concrete. The other was the sound of violent arguing assaulting her poor, delicate eardrums. If there was one thing she needed during sleep, it was silence.

Fubuki lifted her head up, preparing to intervene in whatever petty argument her drama queen actors were getting into now, but she paused. As artificial light burned into her corneas, Fubuki was forced to come to the conclusion that she had no idea on earth where she was.

There was one thing for certain, however, and that was the fact she definitely wasn’t on a film set. She wasn’t at home, in her room, at her desk coming up with ideas for the next big thing. And she definitely wasn’t in the editing bay going over the same scenes over and over again to make sure they looked just right.

No, it was nothing like that. None of the places she knew or had come to recognize. 

The room itself, in spite of the fact she didn’t recognize it at all, didn’t seem all that bad, per se. In fact, one might say it seemed rather cozy. With cherry wood floors and a large, decorative rug in the center of the room, and a grandfather clock in the corner, it almost seemed like some home of the privileged, old, and elderly. Just expensive enough to bring life and grandeur to the room, just old-fashioned enough to not feel cold. Not only that, but the lit fireplace gave the room a soothing warmth. 

Aside from that, there were a handful of loveseats interspersed through the room. And judging from the genteel softness underneath her back, in spite of the splitting headache, Fubuki could assume she was currently on one of them. The walls were covered in a thick red, vintage wallpaper with a swirly design on it. Overall, the room as whole gave a bit of a _Clue_ vibe. The movie, not the board game.

Needless to say the situation was confusing, but before Fubuki had the opportunity to analyze it any further, the thing that woke her up in the first place began anew.

“Why don’t you just admit it already? Do you think this is funny?”

“I already told you! I don’t know what’s going on either!”

Fubuki craned her neck over the side of her loveseat. As it turned out, the reason her neck hurt so badly was someone had kindly saw it fit to rest her neck directly on the hard armrest. Yes, kindly. As she peered over, she could see two girls in the midst of a heated argument. They were both cute and fashionable, one with short purple hair, and the other with a long dark braid. The purple-haired one was pointing accusingly at the other girl, her finger wagging rudely.

“I know this was on you! You’re always messing around! You can never take anything fucking seriously! It's all just games to you!” Purple-haired girl.

“If I was messing around, do you really think I would’ve invited _you_ of all people to the party? Give me a break! You always just wanna blame everything that goes wrong on me!” Braided girl.

“Because it’s true!”

“Shut up!”

Fubuki prepared to stand up and intervene. She was pretty used to coming in between heated debates between bratty drama queens. This would be no different. But before she got the opportunity, a chill looking red-haired boy walked in between them, holding his hands up in front of them. It was a placating gesture, to be sure, but his body language suggested he was willing and ready to push both of them back should they try to cross that boundary.

“Ladies.” There was a flirtatious lilt to his voice, not in the sense he was _actually_ flirting with them, but as though he spoke like that all the time. “None of us know what’s going on here, but arguing isn’t going to solve anything. I suggest you two take a minute to cool off.”

Both girls glared at one another for another few seconds, before breaking eye contact and turned away.

“Fine,” the braided girl said. “But just keep in mind that she started it.”

“Ugh, you’re so immature!”

“What did you s-”

“Ladies!!” the red-haired boy exclaimed again with more urgency. “Enough!”

Both girls made a little huffy noise, but they did separate and walk to opposite sides of the room. The red-haired boy breathed out a sigh of relief and ran a hand through his hair. Fubuki could note a sheen of sweat gathering along his forehead. He may have acted cool and mature, but this situation was clearly getting to him, as it would anyone. And really, how could Fubuki blame him? Waking up in an area like this with no memory of how she got there was twisting her stomach up in knots and she'd only just woke up. A pretty blonde girl grabbed the red-haired boy by the hand and pulled him away from the center of the room. She leaned him up against the wall and got on her tiptoes to smooch his sweating forehead. It definitely seemed they knew each other, was Fubuki really the odd one out here in that regard? She didn't recognize a single person in the room, that is, of what she had seen, but-

“Well, that was quite dramatic, wouldn’t you say?” the voice came from slightly behind Fubuki, a little bit too close for comfort, actually. Fubuki started a little and turned around to see a person with dark hair and an eyepatch. They were crouched down on the ground by her loveseat, only inches away from her own face. Didn't this person have any manners?

"You're...a bit close there," Fubuki said.

"Oh?" the person smiled. "Is that your biggest concern? Curious, indeed. We're trapped in a room with no memory of how we got here and you're more focused on how close I am." They leaned in further. "Am I really that good looking?"

Fubuki pressed her back more against the loveseat and shifted upwards a bit to put any more distance between her and this person. 

“Does really no one remember?” Fubuki asked.

The person chucked and twirled a piece of their bangs. “No idea. We all just...woke up here. Well, almost all of us. A few of us have yet to awaken.” The person gestured to a nearby loveseat holding a girl in a kimono sleeping peacefully.

“Okay...you say you don’t know what’s going on, but do you remember getting here?” Fubuki asked.

“If any of us could remember that, I don’t believe we would be so confused right now,” the person replied. “In any case, before assaulting me with an endless barrage of questions, perhaps you should introduce yourself?”

Fubuki pursed her lips in annoyance. Wasn’t it typically more polite to introduce yourself first? But whatever, it didn’t bother her enough to throw a fit. Especially after the drama that just occurred. The last thing anyone needed was another fight. It would just result in even more panic.

“I’m Fubuki Nakano,” Fubuki said. “Nice to meet you…?” She trailed off, hoping this person would fill in the blanks.

[](https://imgur.com/PdGKxJV)

“Yes, Fubuki Nakano. The Ultimate Film Director, I know who you are.”

“Then why’d you have me introduce myself?!”

“Curiosity. I wanted to see if you’d be honest, even in _such_ a stressful situation.” The person seemed amused. “We’re all Ultimates here. I’m certain you would’ve figured that out on your own, so don’t feel as though you owe me for that information.”

“Trust me, I wouldn’t have,” Fubuki replied. Goodness, why did this person really seem like they were having fun? Fubuki wanted to believe they weren't in danger, but a group of Ultimates are gathered together like this? That could only mean a few things and most of them weren't exactly good or hopeful options. 

The person laughed again, a playful smirk on their face. “Very well. If you’re so smart, then why don’t you guess my talent?”

Fubuki was not in the mood for this. This person was very quickly getting on her nerves with their blase attitude considering the situation.

“Can’t you just tell me?” Fubuki asked.

“Consider it professional curiosity. Even if you get it wrong, I’ll introduce myself. But if you get it right, I’ll tell you something no one else in this room seems to realize,” the person said.

Fubuki sighed. Well, she couldn’t pass up that opportunity, whether this person was serious about it or not. It’s not as though she was sacrificing anything for it.

“Alright, well...considering your attitude, I’d say some kind of information broker?” Fubuki guessed. “You seem to already know a lot.”

“Interesting theory,” the person said. “But alas, you were wrong. It happens to the best of us, I’m sure. Don’t sweat it. Well, as promised, I’ll introduce myself. Takeuchi Ono, the Ultimate Journalist...and I know I wear a skirt, but I'm not a girl. You're a director, correct? You've heard of non-binary people, haven't you?”

[](https://imgur.com/dCBiWZR)

A journalist. It made sense, honestly. Those were their own form of information broker, except they didn't reveal their information for money, rather for prestige and search for truth.

“But tragically, since you failed, no new information for you. A pity, is it not?” Takeuchi mused. 

The only real pity was that Takeuchi was still crouching there, but Fubuki didn’t say so.

“Well if you know so much, what can you tell me about the others?” Fubuki asked.

“Why don’t you go introduce yourself and find out?” Takeuchi grinned, as though this situation was of great information to them. Fubuki had a feeling they weren’t about to tell her anything else, so introductions it was. "Oh, but I will give you _one_ clue. Kaoru-chama uses they/them, just like me. Would be a shame for such a sweet girl to misgender anyone..."

Fubuki frowned and looked away from Takeuchi. Of course she was grateful for the single nugget of information, but Takeuchi was really grating on her nerves, as though they wanted to watch her squirm and write. And maybe they did. It gave them far more to write about. In any case, introductions were nice, of course, and definitely important considering their circumstances, but what was more important right now was finding a way out. The room might’ve been in good condition, but that didn’t mean Fubuki wanted to stay there longer than necessary. Takeuchi could've skipped that step for her, but they seemed more interested in having a good time. Well, perhaps they wanted to watch her like an animal in a cage, but she had other plans.

Fubuki slid her body to the side of the loveseat Takeuchi _wasn't_ crouched by and stood up. She took a moment to stretch out her sore back muscles and crack her neck, before making her way to the wooden double doors, the only apparent way out of the room. 

“I already tried them. They’re locked,” Takeuchi called after her and subsequently went ignored. For all she knew, they worked and Takeuchi just kept it to themselves for amusement's sake.

But sure enough, when she wrapped her hands around the cool metal handles and tugged, neither door budged. They didn’t even jangle. It was as though they were glued shut. Not one to accept defeat easily, Fubuki tried pulling the doors a few more times, but they didn’t seem to loosen at all. She let go of them and rubbed her fingers down the wood on the doors.

It seemed sturdy, definitely not something someone could just kick through. She knocked on it. It didn’t produce a hollow sound, but made a low, deep sound, telling her it had to be pretty thick. And the hinges on the doors were new and heavy duty.

It’s not like she thought it would be like a cheap movie prop made specifically to be broken, but she didn’t expect it to be so...well, quality. This wasn’t just a normal door installed to get the job done. No, this was tough stuff, specifically made to keep things in.

Or out.

Fubuki backed away from the doors, shaking thoughts of horror films from her mind, and glanced around the room for any other possible exit, but found nothing. The walls were heavily decorated with odd paintings and statues, but not with windows. Unless there was a hidden entrance somewhere, it seemed like the doors were the only options.

“I already tried kicking the doors down, but man, those things ain’t budging for anyone.” A darker toned boy walked up and approached her, rubbing his hand along the back of his head. He had a sheepish expression upon his face, looking almost bashful as he admitted his failure. 

“Yeah, I can tell they’re locked tight,” Fubuki sighed. “I just don’t really get why.”

“Well, I wouldn’t stress about it too much,” the guy said. He had a bit of an accent, but Fubuki couldn’t pinpoint what it was. “I’m sure this is just, like, hazing or some shit.”

“Hazing?” Fubuki was unimpressed by this theory.

“I mean, yeah, doesn’t it seem like that?” the guy asked. “Hope’s Peak does weird shit like this all the time, y’know?”

“I don’t think kidnapping qualifies as just ‘weird’,” Fubuki replied.

“Not where I’m from,” the guy held his hand out for her to shake. “Danny Reese, Ultimate Long Distance Runner.”

[](https://imgur.com/hkNToA6)

Fubuki accepted the handshake and shook it firmly. She was more used to bowing, but handshakes weren’t uncommon to her. Western actors and producers seemed to strongly prefer them. Considering the name, Fubuki would assume he was a westerner, though she still couldn’t pinpoint the accent. She couldn't help but wonder if he was from the States or Europe.

“They couldn’t call me the Ultimate Track Runner, because there was a really good short distance chick. At least, I think, she's not here right now though,” Danny said with a shrug. “But enough about me! What’s going on with you?”

“Well, we’re all trapped in here, so not grea-”

“No, no, I meant your name and talent!” Danny exclaimed.

Geez, then say that!

“I’m Fubuki Nakano, the Ultimate Film Director,” Fubuki said.

“Oh damn, what kind of movies you make?” Danny asked, suddenly growing very excited. 

“Most of my filmography are short films. My most recent two are feature-length, they’re both pretty different. One is a horror movie representing the existential horror of living as a teenage girl in society. The other is just a tragic love story,” Fubuki explained. Danny just stared at her blankly, something she’d come to expect when interacting with kids her own age. She never expected them to be film snobs, like herself, which is why she didn't like discussing it at all. 

“You should make an action movie, I bet you’d be good at that,” Danny said.

She didn’t see how he’d know that considering he didn’t know what her movies were like, but she still smiled and went, “Thanks.”

“So, like, mind if I ask what your name means and all that? I’m still learning Japanese and kanji and all that,” Danny said.

“Oh. Sure?” Fubuki replied. She wasn’t use to doing that. Most people just assumed the spelling. “So, with ‘Fu’, I use the kanji for ‘winter’. For ‘buki’, it’s the kanji for ‘blossom’. So together my name is ‘winter blossom.’”

“Oh, that’s pretty! I would’ve expected a more summery name for you, though,” Danny said.

“I can’t control when I was born,” Fubuki replied with a shrug. 

“Maybe we should switch names then~” a soft, tinkling voice stated from both of their right. Standing before both of them was one of the cutest people Fubuki had ever seen in her life, and that was saying a lot for someone who regularly worked with celebrities. It was just something about their demeanor, soft and cozy wrapped up in knitted sweater.

“What IS your name?” Danny asked.

“Kaoru,” the person replied, a gentle smile on their face. “I’m Kaoru Yanagi, it’s nice to meet you both!”

Kaoru...the person Takeuchi warned her about. They/Them.

“Kaoru...that’s a cute name,” Fubuki said. “Fragrant, right?”

“Yep, it’s more spring than summer, but still! I wouldn’t mind having a wintery name considering my talent,” Kaoru said.

“Which is?” Danny asked, seemingly more fed up with the lack of information. A little on the impatient side, it seemed

“Oh? Did I not say? Silly me~ I’m the Ultimate Knitter!”

[](https://imgur.com/HeReWY1)

Considering the knitted sweater and the knitted vest under that sweater, it wasn’t too shocking a revelation.

“Did you make those clothes yourself?” Fubuki asked.

“Of course! How did you guess?” Kaoru giggled in delight.

“Ahh...lucky guess?” Fubuki said, unsure of how to even reply to that. Was it just her, or did Kaoru seem a little bit awkward?

“Nah, it’s cuz it makes sense,” Danny said. Well, it seemed he was unabashed in just blurting that sort of thing out. “You’re the Ultimate Knitter and wearing knitted clothes. It just makes sense.”

“Oh...you’re so right! Silly me!” Kaoru giggled again. Fubuki had a feeling this was about to turn into a habit for Kaoru. She was going to have to get used to hearing ‘silly me.’

A terrified shriek came from the loveseats, and everyone turned to look at what was going on. On one of the seats, the girl in the kimono sat up and started looking around in terror. She wrapped her arms around her torso as though to cradle herself.

“W-Where am I? What’s going on? Who are you people?” the girl squeaked. Her entire body shook and shuddered like a leaf in the wind.

Danny gave Fubuki’s arm a couple of pats and said, “Don’t worry, I got this.” He approached the redhead and went, “Hey!”

The girl let out a frightened cry. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she flopped back down onto the loveseat. Danny just stared in shock, his hand still half up.

“Wh-What the hell?” Danny asked.

“Ugh, could you quiet down?” A boy with short, perfectly quaffed blonde hair snorted. “Why are poor people so noisy?”

Danny bristled at the perceived insult and snapped, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s exactly as it sounds, peon,” the blonde replied.

“Peon??? Just who the hell do you think you are, bastard?” 

The blonde grinned smugly. “I’m Keita Kujo, the Ultimate Seismologist.” He puffed his chest out with pride. “And a single hair on my head is worth more than your entire life.”

[](https://imgur.com/UxK0rKv)

“What the hell did you just say?”

“It’s so sad how you’re this pathetic AND you don’t have functioning ears.”

“Oh we’ll see who’s functioning after I get my hands on you!”

A white haired boy shakily came in between both of them, looking a bit anxious.

“S-Stop it!” he exclaimed and looked at the unconscious girl. “Fighting isn’t going to help right now...and we need to help her.”

“Ack! Fine, but only for the chick!” Danny replied.

“So quick to give in. Typical poor person behavior.” Keita smirked. Danny growled a bit but didn’t rise to take the bait. Instead, he clenched his fists and walked over to a nearby corner of the room and started...counting? Of all things? He just closed his eyes and started counting. A bit odd, but if it kept another fight from breaking out, Fubuki could accept it.

A girl with dark pigtails skipped up to Fubuki's side and looked up her with a catlike smile. The girl was on the shorter end, which only added to the whole 'cat' thing going on with her.

“Wow. Looks like everyone’s in high spirits today,” the pigtailed girl laughed with a grin.

“That’s an understatement,” Fubuki sighed. She was really, really hoping this would be the last argument of the day. They wouldn't be getting out any time soon if everyone kept picking fights with one another.

The pigtailed girl bit on her bottom lip, a playful spark in her eye.

“It’s kind of fun though, right?” the girl asked.

“Uh...if you say so,” Fubuki went along with it.

“Ah, come on. Tell me how you feel,” the girl said with a huge smile. It seemed with every new word for her mouth, the smile would only grow larger and larger.

“It’s just...it’s fine,” Fubuki said. “What did you say your name was again?” 

Desperate attempt to change the subject is desperate.

The girl pouted in apparent disappointment and replied, “Elisa Wolfe, Cryptid Hunter. You might know me best for my work on _The Search for Mothman_ but most of my work is just a biweekly hunt for the monster of the week...or biweek, I guess.”

[](https://imgur.com/8wvGujs)

Truth be told, Fubuki hadn’t heard of Elisa before. She liked horror, but the kind of horror she could create with her own hands. She only ever researched urban legends when it impacted her work, and those were always local legends.

“Ah...I haven’t seen any of your stuff before, but I’ll have to check it out when we get out.” Fubuki wasn’t sure she ever would, but it didn’t hurt to at least say she would.

“ _If_ we get out,” Elisa pointed out. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we’d been kidnapped by some monster in an effort to get rid of me.”

Fubuki highly doubted that, but she nodded politely anyway, with a strained smile.

“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me.” A boy with silvery hair in a ponytail approached with his hands deep in his pockets. “You can’t actually think some kinda mythical monster kidnapped us and put us here, right?”

“I don’t just think it, I know it,” Elisa said. “Cryptids thrive in old places like this.”

“Yeah, and if you was thinking with your brain instead of your ego, you’d realize this place ain’t even that old. Looks like it was built semi-recently,” the guy said. “And not just that either, but if some monster was after you, then why would it kidnap the rest of us?”

Completely ignoring the first part of his point, Elisa replied, “Because you were with me at the time? For food? Just because it’s fun? The motivations of cryptids are often enigmas!”

“Uh-huh. Yeah, right, you seedy bitch. You ain’t nothing but a fraud,” the guy scoffed. 

“Ahaha, I get that all the time!” Elisa exclaimed. “You just haven’t had your third eye opened yet, but that’s alright! There are skeptics everywhere! Not like my buddy, uh, Aka, here. She believes me!”

“Um, my name is Fubuki,” Fubuki corrected.

“Sheesh, how was I supposed to know when you never introduced yourself?” Elisa pouted.

The guy let out a guffaw, “You can’t even be fucked to learn your ‘buddy’s’ name?! You’re the worst!”

“Well it’s not like you knew her name either!” Elisa defended herself.

“Yeah, but I’m not claiming she’s my buddy,” the guy said. 

“Well if you’re not friends, then what are you doing over here? This was a private conversation, so it’s none of your business,” Elisa said.

The guy opened his mouth to retort, but found himself unable to say anything in response to that. He scowled in annoyance at Elisa and began to evacuate from the conversation.

“Ah wait!” Fubuki exclaimed. The guy paused and a smug look came over his face, as though he was expecting something. “What’s your name?”

He returned to scowling. It seemed she didn’t say what he wanted.

“Kiyoshi Akiyama. I’m a makeup artist,” he said.

[](https://imgur.com/vOzNATD)

Honestly, that was the last thing she expected from him, but then again, he was wearing eyeliner and it was perfect.

“Tell your little ‘buddy’ over there she could use some tips to fix that ugly mug of hers.”

With that, he walked off. Fubuki turned back to Elisa, only to find Elisa had gone into the corner of the room to literally jump on Danny's back and start demanding a piggyback ride. So...now what?

The red-haired boy who’d come between the fight between those two girls earlier seemed like a good bet. He seemed calm enough. And the girl he was with had a nice expression. She didn’t seem like she’d be mean either.

She made her way over to the red-haired boy and the blonde girl. 

The couple noticed her approach, but it was the girl who let go of the redhead’s hand and stepped forward to accost her. At first, Fubuki worried the girl was going to get angry with her, something like ‘step off my boyfriend!!’ but the girl just smiled warmly and reached up to cup Fubuki’s face in her hands??

“You have very good bone structure, you know,” the girl said.

“Thanks?” Fubuki replied, unsure of what else to say.

“Ayano. You’re making her uncomfortable,” the redhead said.

“Right, right, I’m sorry! Got a little overexcited! I’m guessing you came over here for some introductions?” the girl, ‘Ayano’, asked.

“Yeah, that’s right!” Fubuki said.

“Of course~ I’m Ayano Mitobe, the better half of the Ultimate Couple!” Ayano stated.

The...Ultimate Couple?

“Ayano. She’s not going to understand if you say it like that,” the redhead sighed.

“My girlfriend, Ayano, is the Ultimate Matchmaker,” the redhead explained.

[](https://imgur.com/YSlGKZa)

“And I’m Daiki Sakurai, the Ultimate Couple’s Counselor.”

[](https://imgur.com/6bJClfd)

“Together we’re the Ultimate Couple!” Ayano exclaimed. Yeah, Fubuki still wasn’t getting that.

“Basically, Ayano and I have been together since before becoming Ultimates. As a result of that, we’ve kind of gotten a fanmade title of the Ultimate Couple,” Daiki explained. “Sometimes Ayano gets a little too excited and forgets it’s not our real title.”

“Oh, but I wish it was!” Ayano gushed. “To be acknowledged as the greatest couple in the world, there is no better achievement!” 

She sighed dreamily and grabbed Daiki’s hand again, swinging it a few times. 

Daiki smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, Ayano’s never been concerned about PDA. But anyway, what’s your name?”

The PDA was a little awkward, but Fubuki didn’t mind too much. She’d seen worse. And honestly, it was a little sweet seeing such a loving couple, even in the bizarre circumstances.

“I’m Fubuki Nakano, the Ultimate Film Director, it’s good to meet you guys,” Fubuki said.

“Fubuki...Fubuki...that sounds familiar. I wonder if I’ve seen one of your films before!” Ayano exclaimed. 

Fubuki shrugged. “It’s definitely possible. I’ve directed some successful stuff before. My most famous film is _Find me in the Summer_ , mainly because that’s one of my only feature length films. I’ve mostly produced short films up to now.”

“Hmmm, _Find me in the Summer_ … saw trailers for that, but I never saw it. I must’ve watched something else of yours. I’ll have to think about it, Fubuki-chan”

“Don’t worry about it if you haven’t seen anything, most of my stuff is more artsy than mainstream.”

“Still...I feel like I’ve seen something...ah, well, i’ll give it a bit more thought then!” Ayano exclaimed.

“Have you met anyone else yet, Fubuki-san?” Daiki asked.

“Well, there was Takeuchi…” Daiki must’ve read her face, because a very small, but amused, smile appeared on his face.

“Yeah, Takeuchi-san is a little odd, but they’re not all that bad,” Daiki said. “Is that all?”

“I mean, I woke up to that argument going on. Any idea what that was about?” Fubuki asked.

“Not a clue, but if I had to guess, those two have history together. They definitely knew each other,” Daiki explained. “It doesn’t sound like their friendship ended on good terms.”

“Friends don’t argue like that,” Ayano said. “No, those two hate each other. Or at the very least, they’re both very, very pissed off.”

“I just hope they don’t argue like that again,” Fubuki said.

“You and me both,” Daiki said. “If you want a little more insight, you might want to try talking to one of them. They’ll know more about the fight than either of us do.”

Well, Fubuki doubted either of those girls planned on opening up to a complete stranger, but it was worth a shot. And it was at least worth the introduction. Fubuki gave a little wave goodbye to Ayano and Daiki, before heading over to the braided girl. In the fight, she had seemed slightly calmer, being more on the defensive than anything, so she was probably a safer bet.

“Hey, I’m-”

“Can you believe the NERVE of that girl?”

Or perhaps not.

The braided girl seized the opportunity to complain to the first person willing to listen and snapped, “Accusing me of all people of being up to something? As if! Like I even know what’s going on! She just wants to start drama, as always!”

“Okay...why don’t we calm down a little bit-”

“I am calm! Don’t tell me to calm down! I can’t even believe this shit! This is so unfair and ridiculous! She’s the one that attacked me first, not the other way round. So to get demonized for literally defending myself is just the worst! I can’t even deal with this crap!” the braided girl practically screeched. 

Fubuki held up her hands in alarm.

"Whoa, okay, I'm sorry!"

The braided girl made a little huffy noise, but she did seem to calm down some.

"No...it's okay. I'm not usually like this. It's just that girl gets under my skin so easily," the braided girl sighed. "I'm guessing you came over here to ask what that was all about?"

Well...yes, but not that she was asked upfront like that, Fubuki found herself chickening out entirely and giving the girl a strained smile.

"Actually... I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Fubuki Nakano, the Ultimate Film Director, and you are?"

"I'm Shiina Onodera, Ultimate Lyricist. Nice to meet you."

[](https://imgur.com/PzoWqGA)

It didn't _sound_ that nice, but Shiina was clearly still furious about the situation. Hopefully she wasn't always like this.

“Nice to meet you too," Fubuki replied cautiously. "So...you and...?" Oh, she was chickening out again. Maybe she should just say goodbye and go.

"Who? You mean HotarEW?" Shiina scoffed. "She just hates me for no good reason. She's always looking for a reason to pick a fight with me. You'd think at our age we'd all be a little more mature, but some of us just can't grow up."

Fubuki could very clearly tell she wasn't going to get anything from value out of Shiina and her relationship with the other girl. It all just sounded like mindless shit talk, but obviously there had to be more to it than that.

"Are you gonna be alright?" Fubuki asked. "I mean, we're all trapped in this room right now. Do you think you can keep yourself from lunging for her throat?"

"Me? You don't have to worry about me. It's her you have to worry about," Shiina replied. "Ugh, she's put me in such a terrible mood. I'm sure I've made the absolute worst first impression on everyone. I'm just gonna take a few more minutes to cool off, that cool with you?"

"Yeah...yeah, that's cool with me." More than cool, actually. This was a perfect out. With her introduction to Shiina complete, she figured she might as well get the other half with Hotaru. She had a name, but no talent to go with it. 

Fubuki backed away with Shiina and up to the purple-haired girl. In spite of her rage earlier, Hotaru now looked cool as a cucumber, with her arms crossed over her chest and her lips pursed.

Before Fubuki even got a chance to speak, Hotaru said, "I'm sorry you had to see that earlier. I just lose my head whenever I'm in the same room as that girl."

"It's...alright," Fubuki replied.

"Hah, not really, but thanks anyway," Hotaru said. "In any case, I just saw you talking to Shiina. Did she say anything about me?"

"Just that you're always looking for a reason to pick a fight with her," Fubuki said.

"I don't have to look for reasons. She gives me plenty of reasons as is," Hotaru replied bitterly. "Anyway, sorry. We don't have to talk about something so...unpleasant. What's your name and talent?"

"Oh, I'm the Ultimate Film Director, Fubuki Nakano, nice to meet you..."

"Good to meet you as well." Hotaru grabbed Fubuki's hand and shook it lightly before releasing it. "I'm Hotaru Takeda, the Ultimate Composer. If you need any good movie scores in the future, you know who to call."

[](https://imgur.com/UXDShaD)

Good to have in mind. But now that Fubuki thought of it, it seemed both Hotaru and Shiina had musical based talents. That could have something to do with how those two met. 

"I'll keep it in mind."

"That's all I ask. So, Fubuki-san, how long have yo-"

Hotaru cut herself off and stared over Fubuki's shoulder with a bit of a glare on her face. Considering the expression, Fubuki would've guessed it was Shiina back there, but when she turned around, she saw something slightly unexpected.

There was another purple-haired person, but he was nowhere near as pretty as Hotaru. He had a creepy smile and teeth a bit pointier than what was normal. His hair fell into his eyes and he wore an almost completely black suit.

"Hi..." his voice was hoarse. He sounded shy, but his expression, a creepy grin promising hidden intentions, was anything but. Fubuki found herself dumbfounded and unsure how to even respond to him. Even worse, he practically towered over her. How was she supposed to deal with this?

"Oh, um...hi?" Fubuki responded.

"I like your socks...they look like bunnies..." the guy said. He didn't even look away from her eyes when he said it. But Fubuki was forced to glance down, if for no other reason that to escape his gaze. She already knew what her socks looked like, but he wasn't wrong. They didn't have little faces on them or anything, they were just plain white, but the sides of them came up in little bunny ears.

"Oh, thank you." It was only sheer willpower and the memory of her mother scolding her to be polite that convinced Fubuki to glance back up and maintain eye contact. 

The creepy grin grew. "Fubuki Nakano...Ultimate Film Director. Do all Film Directors wear bunny socks? Heh...heh...maybe I could sell that."

The fact that this guy knew her identity unsettled her infinitely more than with Takeuchi. How did he know her? Most people didn't know film directors by face, and only big names had their names remembered. She might've been an Ultimate, but she still wasn't a Spielberg or a Kurosawa!

"No...it's a personal choice,” Fubuki said. She didn’t want to put every director into the bunny socks category, after all.

“Hmmm, heh...heh...well, you’re cute...so we could market some nice socks...you just have to model…” the guy reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a sleek dark business card with silver text and held it out for Fubuki to accept. It showed his number and read ‘Hiromitsu Mizuno, Entrepreneur’, as well as his number, address, and email. Fubuki guessed he was the Ultimate Entrepreneur.

[](https://imgur.com/KGQMnpa)

“Oh, uh, thanks…” Fubuki forced a smile and put the card into one of the free pockets on her bag. Why did she get such a bad vibe from this guy? Hiromitsu grinned and reached out to touch Fubuki’s hair.

“Haaah, I wonder what else I could get you to sell…?”

A hand reached out and smacked Hiromitsu’s away from her. An attractive brown-haired boy stepped protectively in between them.

“Don’t touch a girl without her permission,” the boy snapped.

“Oh...don’t worry, Jin-heyyy, I can sell something with you too,” Hiromitsu said.

“That’s not what this is about and you know it. Can’t you see you’re making her uncomfortable?” Jin-hey(?) said.

Hiromitsu peered around Jin-hey and squinted his eyes, as though trying to read her expression.

“Am I?” Hiromitsu asked. He rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t really get it…where’s Yoyo when I need them…?” Hiromitsu continued muttering to himself as he walked off. Once he was far enough away, Jin-hey turned towards her and gave her a sympathetic look.

“Hey, sorry about him. I don’t think he realizes how his behavior comes across to others,” Jin-hey said. “Don’t be too harsh on him, I’m sure he’s doing his best.”

“That’s...awfully nice of you,” Fubuki said. Considering how intensely he stood up against Hiromitsu, Fubuki expected otherwise.

“I like to have the benefit of the doubt,” Jin-hey said. “But you’re alright? He didn’t...hurt you or anything, did he?”

Fubuki couldn’t help but snort. “Hurt me? He just touched my hair. Trust me, I’m just fine.”

“Alright, if you say so…” Jin-hey didn’t seem so sure. As nice as this guy was being, Fubuki couldn’t help but be slightly irritated by him. She appreciated him stepping in, sure, but she definitely knew whether or not she was okay or if she’d been hurt. “I think I overheard your name was...Fubuki, right?”

“Yeah, Fubuki Nakano, Ultimate Film Director.” Wow, she was getting real sick of introducing herself.

Jin-hey smiled warmly. “I’m Jin-ho Jeon, the Ultimate Solo Artist. Good to meet you, Fubuki-chan.”

[](https://imgur.com/2sQYRuG)

“Jin-ho…? That doesn’t sound Japanese. Are you Korean?”

“Right on the nose,” Jin-ho laughed. “I hope this won’t change how you think of me.”

“No, no, of course not!” Fubuki assured. “I’m not like that!”

“Oh, glad to hear it.”

“So...solo artist. What does that mean?” 

“I’m a performer. I write my own lyrics and mostly do rap,” Jin-ho explained. “I also dance.”

“So like an idol?”

Jin-ho laughed a bit. “Yeah, basically. I’m just not part of a group, though.”

“I see...then I guess you’re pretty famous then.”

“Hah, I wouldn’t go that far, but I suppose I must be a bit if I’m at Ultimate.”

“And humble too!”

“Hey, you’re the one who said it first!”

Fubuki coughed to cover up a laugh. Her annoyance from before had entirely ebbed away, which was definitely good. Better to be in a decent mood. Jin-ho opened his mouth to say something else, but he didn’t speak. From one of the loveseats, the red-haired girl in a kimono let out a little shriek as she woke up, sitting up quickly.

There was a boy with white hair by her side who held up his hands as though to keep her calm.

“It’ll be okay. I, um, please don’t pass out again!” the white-haired boy squeaked. 

“P-Pass out…?” the girl cried.

Jin-ho shot Fubuki a sympathetic smile and said, “I’d better go help out. You understand.” 

Considering how much both the white-haired boy and the red-haired girl were panicking, yeah, someone levelheaded probably was necessary.

Jin-ho walked away to go and help out the two of them, already speaking soothing words to calm both of them down. 

“Wow...what a hunk, right? I love a man who knows how to take care of others.”

Fubuki glanced to her left to see a girl in purple biting on her pointer finger and staring at Jin-ho with bedroom eyes.

“Ah...yeah, I guess he’s good looking,” Fubuki agreed, figuring the girl had been talking to her. She thought wrong. The girl in purple turned her head and scowled at Fubuki.

“What part of that made it sound like I was talking to you?” the girl exclaimed.

“I...it just sounded like you were asking a question there,” Fubuki said.

“It was rhetorical, stupid,” the girl in purple scoffed. “Didn’t you ever learn about that before?”

“Of course I have!” Fubuki felt the need to defend herself a bit.

“Then act like it,” the girl in purple said. “As if I’d be interested in talking to some skank like you.”

“Skank?”

“Yeah, that’s right! You think I didn’t notice you acting like a damsel in distress to get the hot guy to come and help you out?” the girl asked. What was this girl even talking about? Fubuki hadn’t even noticed Jin-ho until he approached her and she sure as hell hadn’t done something so pathetic as pretend to be a damsel just to get a guy to help her!

“I didn’t even do that!” Fubuki exclaimed. 

“Oh yeah?” the girl in purple grabbed an envelope from her messenger bag and flicked it straight into Fubuki’s face. It was surprisingly painful. “I’m gonna stamp out those lies!” 

Fubuki just stared at her blankly.

“You know...stamp as in letter,” the girl in purple snatched the letter off the ground and held up the envelope. “Because you have to put stamps on envelopes? ...Oh forget it! I should’ve known you’d be too stupid to understand what I’m saying!”

On her last word, the girl threw her hands back in frustration and ended up smacking a small girl in the face. Complete silence. 

The girl in purple looked behind her to face who’d she’d hit and gulped nervously. Standing there, hands crossed over her chest, stood someone who could only be a delinquent. With her face mask and cool look, it was pretty clear to tell. And Fubuki could see the muscles bulging under this delinquent’s clothes.

The girl in purple must’ve too, because she let out a terrified squeak and ran away to the opposite side of the room.

“Shitty bitch,” the delinquent sighed, glaring across the room as the other girl ran off. 

“Oh, thank you for that,” Fubuki said.

“For what? I didn’t even do anything,” the delinquent scoffed.

“Well, you scared her off, didn’t you?” Fubuki asked.

“I didn’t do it to help you.”

“I know, but I’m thanking you anyway.”

“Ugh, whatever…” the delinquent started to walk off, but Fubuki grabbed onto her sleeve. Immediately the delinquent wrenched her arm away and glared at Fubuki. “Don’t fucking touch me.”

“Sorry, I just wanted to get your name,” Fubuki asked.

“None of your fucking business,” the delinquent replied. Then she paused and seemed to think about it. “Anzu Harima, now leave me the fuck alone.”

[](https://imgur.com/EWcBhqs)

Anzu stalked off, shooting Fubuki a warning glance promising pain if Fubuki tried to follow.

Fubuki sighed. Alone again, it seemed. And there were a handful of unpleasant people amongst them. Hopefully this wouldn’t turn into a bloodbath. 

“Ice cold, huh? Looks like we’ve got a lot of ice queens among us.”

Someone approached and wrapped their arm around her lazily, leaning into her a bit too much. Fubuki shook the new person off a bit and took a step back to get a new look at who this person was.

It was just a relatively normal guy. Part of his hair was pinned back and part of it fell into his silvery eyes. He smirked a bit when he realized she was checking him out. Or at least, you know, just looking him over.

“Sup,” he said and shot her some finger guns. Ugh, if Daiki was a natural flirt, then this guy was the opposite of that. He was trying so, so hard. And failing at it just as hard. A+ for effort, I guess. “Like what you see?”

“Not...particularly…” Fubuki replied, unsure of what else to say.

“Ouch, looks like we’ve got another ice queen. And here I was thinking you’d be a little warmer,” the guy said.

“Don’t take it the wrong way, I’m just not interested,” Fubuki said.

The guy held up his hands placatingly. “You’re good, chickadee.”

“Chickadee??” Fubuki exclaimed.

“Yeah, because you’re small and cute like a chickadee,” the guy explained. Ugh, Fubuki was ready to groan. 

“Okaaaay. Well, don’t call me that. My name is-”

“Fubuki. Yeah, I know. I got Take-chan to tell me who all the girls were in here,” the guy said.

“What? How!! They wouldn’t tell me anything!” Fubuki exclaimed.

“I just offered them something they wanted. Don’t worry about it too much,” the guy said. “Well? Aren’t you going to ask my name?”

Well, now that he brought it up, she kind of didn’t want to, but she also wanted to at least know who everyone else was.

“Alright. What’s your name then?” Fubuki asked.

“Glad you asked! I’m Yoh Minami, the Ultimate Falconer. The pleasure is all mine! I may work with birds of prey, but I still love all birds.”

[](https://imgur.com/7MV6mNu)

“If you love them all, then how do you feel when your falcons kill little birds?” Fubuki asked.

“Not just falcons, I’ve got eagles, hawks, and owls too,” Yoh pointed out. “And anyway, circle of life, baby. I can’t hate them for needing to eat when I’m out here eating their cousins.”

Personally, Fubuki didn’t think she could stomach it, but that’s probably why she wasn’t a bird expert. Or an animal expert at all. The cruelty of the world was something she only enjoyed portraying in fiction. 

Honestly, Fubuki wasn’t even sure what to say to this guy anymore. The conversation had kind of died out. 

“Wait. So Takeuchi told you the names of the girls, right?” Fubuki asked.

“Yep, like I said,” Yoh replied.

“So who’s that girl in purple? White hair? That one over there?” Fubuki asked and gestured in the direction of the girl. Fubuki didn’t exactly want to point for a number of different reasons.

“Oh, her?” Yoh snorted. “Momo Momoi. It’s a silly name, but kind of cute, even if she is like a spoiled princess. Apparently she’s the Ultimate Delivery Girl.”

[](https://imgur.com/X2FfhHb)

A delivery girl. Fubuki could’ve guessed that from the letters and the puns. 

Fubuki silently hoped Momo was the type to just deliver stuff then leave. She would feel sorry for anyone Momo tried to actually interact with. But with her question answered, Fubuki honestly didn’t have much more to say to the flirtatious falconer. Except maybe goodbye, but Yoh was just sort of looking at her expectantly.

Fubuki glanced over to the kimono girl and the white-haired boy still frantically checking her over. She probably would've tried to introduce herself, but the kimono girl was still very clearly in a sensitive state. The last thing Fubuki wanted to do was have her passing out yet again. But before Fubuki could decide to do anything else, the fire in the fireplace keeping the room warm suddenly fizzled out. Just in the snap of a finger, the entire thing was out, only sizzling embers and smoke remaining. 

“Hey, wh-”

Whoever was speaking got cut off by the loudest, most excruciating scraping sound imaginable. Without thinking, Fubuki shoved her hands to her ears and covered them to protect from the sound and it looked as though she wasn’t the only one. Everyone else in the room covered their own ears as well.

The scraping sound lasted for a good minute or so before finally stopping. Tentatively, Fubuki let go of her ears and looked around the room skeptically, somewhat afraid the noise would start anew. But it didn’t. A draft blew through the room and Fubuki shivered.

Immediately, Yoh began to take off his cloak, but before he could hand it to her, a jacket was tossed right on top of Fubuki’s head. She glanced around in confusion, wondering who would be so kind, and then Anzu of all people stepped out in front of her, now without her jacket. She looked even more muscular then, her biceps flexing through her thin striped shirt as she crossed her arms over her chest. She didn’t even glance at Fubuki in any acknowledgement of what she’d done.

“Whaaaat? But I’m cold too! Where’s my jacket!!” Momo whined loudly. She jutted her bottom lip out dramatically and made puppy eyes towards Jin-ho, who wasn’t even looking at her.

With the new opportunity, with gusto, Yoh ripped off his cloak and offered it out to her. Momo’s expression shifted from faux cute to disgusted and she slapped Yoh’s hand away from her.

“Ew! No! I don’t want your weird cape, freak!” Momo snapped. She made a little huff and stomped a few steps further away from him.

“Everyone shut the fuck up and start paying attention,” Anzu said gruffly. She pointed at the fireplace. Or rather, what was behind it. There was a large opening towards the back leading into another room, as though the entire back of the fireplace had just opened up. And maybe it had. Maybe that’s where the scraping sound came from.

Without waiting for anyone else, Anzu stepped into the fireplace. She didn’t seem to care that she was stepping on still hot soot with her surprisingly feminine shoes. She just crouched down and went through the entrance into the other side of the fireplace. Everyone waited with bated breath for Anzu to say, well, anything once she reached the other side.

What would she find there? Horrors beyond their wildest imaginations? Another locked room? Hope’s Peak teachers waiting to tell them it was all a joke? No one knew.

After a long, long silence, Anzu sighed and called, “Well? Is anyone else planning on coming? I’m pretty sure this is the way out.”

With a collective shrug, everyone began to make their way to the fireplace. The white-haired boy tried to grab onto the unconscious girl. In vain. Because it seemed this poor guy just didn’t have the muscle mass to carry someone. Luckily for him, Danny approached and pulled the girl up into his arms with minimal difficulty. Maybe that was his way of trying to make up for scaring the girl earlier.

Either way, he left with her through the fireplace exit. 

Soon enough, only Takeuchi and Fubuki remained in the room.

Takeuchi gave a lopsided grin and said, “Ladies first.”

Well, no arguing with that. Fubuki glanced at Takeuchi one last time before going straight into the fireplace. After so many people walking through, the heat from the ash had somewhat diminished, but being in there still felt slightly warm.

Upon exiting into the new room, Fubuki honestly didn’t really notice much, aside from the fact it was, well, a little bit creepy. The room was only lit up by lanterns, and there was only one door, made out of sturdy wood just like in the room before. Unlike in the room before, however, this room was entirely made out of stone, from the floors to the walls. 

The only object in the entire room was a small coffin. It definitely wasn’t fully sized, clearly meant for a child. Fubuki couldn’t decide if that was horrifying, depressing, or if she should be taking notes right then.

Anzu had already gotten to work on the door, tugging haplessly at the handles. Just like in the last room, it wouldn’t budge.

In frustration, Anzu slammed her foot into the door, not with the intent to knock it down, but to more so get out her frustration.

“Dammit! What the hell’s even going on here?” Anzu snapped.

Takeuchi finally entered the room via fireplace and the child sized coffin exploded open in a puff of red smoke. It burned the eye and Fubuki had to squeeze her eyes shut and coughed as the smoke entered her lungs. She covered her face with the crook of her arm, hoping it might be able to help just a little bit.

Yeah, it clearly didn’t, but eventually she did manage to stop coughing as fresh, clean air entered her lungs and she opened her eyes.

Standing upon the coffin, hands on their hips, was a bat plushie. It smiled at them with a wide grin and glittered, excited eyes. It wore a Lolita style dress of all things and stood at about two-feet tall. Fubuki didn’t even know how to react to what she was looking at.

“Hello, one and all!” the bat shouted, lifting their arms in the air for emphasis. “I’d like to cordially welcome you all to your very! First! Killing Game!!”

The room went silent.

The girl in the kimono passed out again.

**Author's Note:**

> I commissioned Hero for the roster art! She can be reached on discord under PandaHero#8659 and her commission info can be found here: https://imgur.com/a/tzMsX8z


End file.
